Underdog role fits Marlboro Memorial
BY JEFF APPELBLATT
Correspondent

From the start of the 2007 baseball season, Marlboro Memorial Middle School head coach Dave Croken knew his team would be seen as an underdog.

But that wasn't going to stop his club from doing its best to compete with the big guys.

The Monarch Lions took advantage of the final playoff spot in their division, using it to overpower Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School, 14-3, in the first round.

The team that at one point didn't expect a playoff spot now had a playoff win under its belt. The players could have been satisfied.

But not yet - Marlboro Memorial wasn't done. The momentum from the win carried over, and they beat the undefeated Memorial Elementary School (of Eatontown) in round two.

"Both of those teams are seventh- and eighth-graders," Croken said about the teams from MEMS and Eatontown. "[Ours is made up of] sixth- and seventh-[graders]. The size difference was significant.

"It was a real 'David and Goliath' type of thing," he added. "We were underdogs by appearance."

That's why it was important to build on the MEMS win.

"The Eatontown game was significant because people could have been thinking 'Oh, they just got lucky last game [vs. MEMS],' but then we upset the undefeated [Eatontown] team," said Croken.

The movie where the little guy comes from nowhere to win it all, though, didn't pan out.

Marlboro Memorial's unthinkable run came to an end when they faced Wall Intermediate School in the title game.

"We were ahead until the final inning, when Wall Township found holes in our outfield," said Croken. "And they wound up beating us 5-4."

While Croken would have loved to win the championship, he is tremendously pleased with the season his team put forth.

"Having gotten so far, we're very happy with our performance," Croken said. "For us to get that far in this division and lose, it was more for us than for Wall to win.

"I placed personal growth as a priority," he said about his top focus on the season. "Winning was a second priority.

"Sometimes that's a detriment," he added. "Most teams carry 16 players, but I carried 20, and it's difficult to get [all] these guys in. I knew that could jeopardize a winning season for us. But I wanted to see individual players grow and coordinate with teamwork, and it worked out."

When it came to the final game against Wall, Croken knew he had to have his best lineup in the game. But instead of talking about who carried the team to that point, he insists that even those who didn't see time on the field during that game played a major role.

"They're scrappy guys who rose to the occasion," he said. "If there were guys who didn't play, they still gave 110 percent during practice.

"I wouldn't want to highlight one particular kid. All [of them] played a role."

But of course, every team has a few standouts.

"Antone Uribe pitched a phenomenal game [against Wall]," Croken said about the seventh-grader who pitched the complete game. "And Bobby Cartas and Joseph Iacobellis had very strong at-bats [that game], knocking in RBIs that kept the team ahead until the last inning.

"Sean Eiges pitched the entire game against Eatontown," Croken added. "If not for his pitching, we would never have been in the championship game."

Two of the most important players for Marlboro Memorial on and off the field were team leaders Thomas Elkow and Eric Katz.

After the accomplishments of this season, Croken plans to follow these guys and the rest of his graduating seventh-graders, and coach the eighth-grade squad next season.

Coaching at the new level, he doesn't plan to change much.

"I'll be with these guys three years," said Croken. "They're scrappy and well- disciplined.

"I don't think I need to change much [of my coaching style]," he added. "I'm going to stick with what's tried and true, and just make adjustments as we go along. The pool of players will be smaller, though."

Also after this year, Croken doesn't expect any teams to think of match-ups with Marlboro Memorial as easy wins.

"No teams will take us lightly next year," he said. "Playing at the playoff level and [in the] championship game brought the kids to a true recognition of what they have inside, and they will go into next year with a can-do attitude. Intelligent play and teamwork propelled them to this level."